Your healthcare provider will take a medical history, perform a physical exam, and may request tests to determine the cause of your cough. As part of the assessment, your provider will check your vital signs, such as your temperature and the number of breaths you take. If your cough has persisted a long time, they may check your oxygen levels, perform a spirometry test in the office, or order a chest X-ray or lung function testing.
Although pregnancy does not normally cause coughing, your immune system does change. This could imply that you catch a cold or cough while pregnant. Furthermore, the cold or cough may persist longer. If your illness lasts longer than expected, or if you have difficulty eating, sleeping, or breathing, contact your healthcare practitioner.
If you cough after eating, it is possible that something went down the wrong way, meaning it traveled to your lungs rather than your stomach. Most of the time, our upper airways are designed to prevent food and drink from reaching our lungs. If food gets into the “wrong pipe,” you will cough, but it’s usually not serious. What you eat or drink can sometimes make its way past that barrier and into your lungs. This is known as aspiration, and it can occur if you have difficulty swallowing or other digestive or lung disorders. Inform your healthcare practitioner if you frequently have coughing and eating problems.
COVID-19 induces coughing. It may also be a symptom of the post-COVID syndrome (or long COVID). Coughing can last for weeks or months after being infected as part of protracted COVID. Other symptoms you may have include extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating or remembering things, and/or difficulty breathing. If you haven’t been diagnosed with COVID-19, talk to your doctor about getting tested. If you have, follow your provider’s advice on how to deal with persistent symptoms.
Call your pediatrician if your child has been coughing for longer than four weeks. In the meanwhile, you can try various home remedies, remembering the need to use the correct amount for your child’s age. If your child is under the age of six, do not give them over-the-counter cough medicine, which is unsafe and can be fatal. You can give a few teaspoons of warm, clear fluids four times per day to babies aged three months to one year. Give half to a full teaspoon of honey to children aged one and up as needed. Cough drops or hard candies can be given to children over the age of six.